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12 | 28Th FEbrUarY - 6Th March 2014 | UTILITY WEEK Research Overall confidence Overall confidence that the smart meter roll- out will be delivered in a timely and efficient manner was fair, if not overwhelming, with respondents rating its likelihood 2.9 out of a possible 5. This confidence was driven by suppliers. As a standalone group, suppliers ranked the likelihood of a timely and efficient rollout slightly higher, as 3 out of a possible 5. DNOs were less confident, rating the like- lihood of a timely and efficient rollout as 2.6 out of 5. Interestingly, government and industry association respondents were the most pes- simistic, with just half reporting confidence in a timely and efficient rollout. Not one DNO or government respondent rated their confidence in the rollout above 3. Verbatim responses to the question, "can you explain the reasons behind your confi- dence rating", highlight some of the tension points. Some suppliers were sanguine, with one respondent saying: "Meter rollout is business as usual. It provides a more efficient way for billing, which is generally in every- one's interest." Another supplier answered: "In the end, these big projects tend to be delivered on time, eg TV digital switchover." Not all suppliers were as confident. Problems raised included: "Manufactur- ers are not producing aligned products that are compatible with each other"; "delays in agreeing standards and the number of engi- neers required to undertake the rollout"; "rumours abound that DCC will be delayed by a further 12 months" DNO respondents raised a different set of problems, focusing more on the structure of the rollout. One respondent bemoaned a "lack of a clear collective plan to get the project completed". Another was concerned at the "over complicated programme, with extremely complicated national IT infra- structure deployment". One concern that appeared time and again was around the workforce required to complete the programme: "27 million households to install gas/electricity smart meters in six years to 2020. That's 4.5 million households a year. Currently, 1.5-3 million meters a year are installed or replaced with the current workforce. This means number of installers would have to be at least doubled." The cost of the smart meter rollout remains a matter for debate. It is interest- ing – though perhaps not surprising – that respondents from DNOs anticipated the roll- out costing two-thirds more per home than suppliers did. This illustrates the prevalent theme that suppliers, which are in the driv- ing seat, are generally far more optimistic about the success of the rollout. Address identification At the top line, there was confidence that the market has the address information it needs to implement the smart meter roll- what is yOur current best estimate Of hOw much the smart meter rOllOut will cOst per hOme? On a scale Of 1 tO 5, hOw cOnfident are yOu that yOur OrGanisatiOn hOlds Or has access tO accurate address infOrmatiOn tO enable an efficient rOllOut? 1 Not at all confident 2 3 4 5 Extremely confident Overall Overall Overall supplier supplier dnO dnO 3.8 3.8 avg supplier premises id e.g. commercial vs residential Key: as it stands tOday, dOes yOur OrGanisatiOn have prOcesses in place tO identify and deal with any Of the fOllOwinG? please select all that apply £338.47 13% 17% 46% 25% 50% 10% 20% 58% 60% 50% 50% 55% 50% 38% 35% 25% 23% 20% 25% 20% £227.57 £374.00 multiple fuel meters in one unit/premises Difficult meter locations multiple dwelling units